SLUMBERED THROUGH THE SHOOTING, Page #0545

several guns he
had to accept orders and leave. In the Territory we had, I suppose, the usual
tense moments when the short-barreled hairtrigger boys wanted to cut our herd
for strays, and Wilcox would not stand for it. We did not have trouble with this
outfit who wanted to cut our herd because the leader recognized Wilcox as a
friend who had once given him a horse, saddle and gun to leave a section of
country where he was "wanted," so he was very anxious to do something in return
for the favor. He offered to stop the fellow we had turned off at Doan's Store,
and who had threatened to follow us up and ``get" one of our men, our new friend
saying he would not have any trouble, just tell some Indians he knew that a bad
man and a good horse were coming and he would never get by. George refused to
give him a description of the man.

We arrived at Dodge City, took in the lively town, then put two Crouch herds
together and drove them to Ogallala with Dick Crewes as boss. There I left them
and went East and to England.

Went again in 18852 I think, to Caldwell, Kansas, and from there to Camp Supply
and delivered to D. R. Fant at his ranch, then took the mail hack to Kiowa, and
the trip and gypsum water wore me out, so I went to the hotel in Kiowa, a board
affair, to rest. Some Texas boys who had had a difference with the town marshal
were in the adjoining room, and I slept through all the shooting, though some
twenty shots were fired by the posse from the street and the boys from the
windows, the marshal being wounded. The boys were still in their room when I
left the next morning.

Those old days may have been a little rough at times, but there was always such
kindness and good feeling among the boys it is a pleasure worth rQmembering to
have been one of them.